May 31, 2017 Comments Off on Scottish child abuse inquiry, Leah Remini on Scientology’s Abuse, Understanding the lure and persuasiveness of cults

– First hearings in child abuse inquiry to get under way
– SCOTS ABUSE PROBE What is the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry?
– Leah Remini on Scientology’s Abuse: ‘It Should Be Everyone’s Fight’
– Understanding the lure and persuasiveness of cultsFirst hearings in child abuse inquiry to get under way
Scotland
The first hearings in the Scottish child abuse inquiry are set to get under way in Edinburgh later.
More than 60 institutions, including several top private schools and church bodies, are being investigated.
The inquiry, which is being chaired by Lady Smith, will look in detail at historical abuse of children in residential care.
It is expected to report in late 2019 – more than four years after it was set up.
The inquiry states its purpose as being “to investigate the nature and extent of abuse of children whilst in care in Scotland”, while considering “the extent to which institutions and bodies with legal responsibility for the care of children failed in their duty”, in particular seeking any “systemic failures”….http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-40093270

SCOTS ABUSE PROBE What is the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry? What is its aim and what organisations are being investigated?
The inquiry will raise public awareness of institutionalised abuse and reveal the reality of the suffering of child victims
By Matt Coyle 30th May 2017
….More than 100 locations identified as places children are believed to have been assaulted.
Prestigious private schools including Fettes College and Loretto are among the sites being investigated.
Eight institutions run by Christian religious orders are also named as part of the investigation.
Under historic care arrangements, Scottish children were sent to countries including Canada, Australia and New Zealand and organisations in these countries will also be probed…..
The overall aim and purpose of the Inquiry is to raise public awareness of the abuse of children in care, particularly in the past
It will allow the public to acknowledge the suffering of those children and a forum for validation of their experience and testimony…..https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/news/1080683/what-is-the-scottish-child-abuse-inquiry/Leah Remini on Scientology’s Abuse: ‘It Should Be Everyone’s Fight’
Jim Halterman May 28, 2017
Nobody is as surprised as actress Leah Remini that her A&E series, Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath, was such a hit during its first season last year. Sure, she’s already written an autobiography (Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology) about her experiences in the organization and appeared on countless talk shows….
Now it’s time for the government agencies whose job it is to protect people from dangerous cults like this to do something about it.
And the IRS not to allow an organization such as this to stand behind the First Amendment and give them free reign to abuse people. That’s not why this amendment is there. It’s there to protect people, to protect real religions and beliefs. This is not that. These are not that. This and other cults like it should not be recognized under this amendment. I obviously need to do more. The headlines should be about the abuses and the people writing these stories should be just as shocked and not use my name. I’ve learned a little bit in that way to be a little bit more selective and demand that people do their job and not put it on me and [former Scientology executive] Mike Rinder as our fight. We’re not anti-Scientologist, we’re anti-bully and we’re anti-abuse….https://www.tvinsider.com/194985/leah-remini-interview-scientology-and-the-aftermath-season-2/Understanding the lure and persuasiveness of cults
Cults are groups that hold persuasive power over their members and demand extreme dedication and subservience. How do cults lure people in and what happens on the inside? Why do people join controlling groups and how difficult is it for them to leave?
There are many stories about cults that have been involved with fraud, embezzlement and abuse. One such story is that of Australia’s most notorious cult, The Family.http://www.abc.net.au/radio/programs/nightlife/understanding-the-lure-and-persuasiveness-of-cults/8560064

April 11, 2017 Comments Off on Top Movies about Cults: “Holy Hell,” “Deprogrammed,” “Children of God,” “Colonia”, Claims John Smyth recruited victim – now head of top prep school – to help him carry out beatings

Top Movies about Cults You Can Watch on Netflix: “Holy Hell,” “Deprogrammed,” “Children of God,” “Colonia”
Charisse Van Horn April 5, 2017
Netflix provides plenty of movie and television watching experiences, but if you’re interested in learning about cults, you might find some of these movies make a great addition to your list. These include Holy Hell, Deprogrammed, Children of God, and Colonia.
A cult if often defined as an organization or group led by a leader that demands complete and total submission while discouraging freedom of thought and the expression of individualism. A form of mind control, cults frequently demand uniformity and submission and will use subversive techniques to ensure everyone obeys the group’s leader. While there are many different cults, most groups share similar traits. You can learn about cults and the tactics they use at the Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry (CARM) Cults, An Outline Analysis. This is not a secular site, but the explanation of a cult is applicable to all.
First and foremost, in order to ensure that individuality is suppressed, mind-control methods are utilized to prevent free will, free thinking, creative ideas, and the use of logic and reasoning. One of the most common ways to suppress individuality is by breaking off relationships with friends and family members, changing the names of members and referring to them by a new name, and forcing them to memorize the group’s teachings that originate with the cult leader.
Many cults operate on hierarchy type systems within the group that essentially provide control over the group. The leader will promote group members to positions where they are monitoring the cult members behavior and looking for any sign that a member is not following the leader’s orders. Punishments are often used to bring members who exhibit their own personality traits back into submission to the group and the leader.
Once a person is involved in a cult it can be difficult to leave and the emotional damage that is done can last a lifetime. Leaving is not an easy process but part of a life-long journey.
The following cult movies on Netflix show what happened inside the destructive group as well as the fight for freedom outside. They are all currently available on Netflix, but movies are always subject to change. The movies tell the stories from real survivors who lived their lives inside the cult, as well as one fictional dramatization based upon accounts of life inside a cult…. http://www.inquisitr.com/4121094/top-movies-about-cults-you-can-watch-on-netflix-holy-hell-deprogrammed-children-of-god-and-colonia/

Claims John Smyth recruited victim – now head of top prep school – to help him carry out beatings
By Rozina Sabur 11 April 2017
A barrister at the centre of a child abuse scandal in the Church of England was assisted by one of his victims, now the headteacher of a top prep school, it has been alleged. John Smyth QC, who was investigated by police over claims he subjected young men to savage sadomasochistic beatings, recruited one of his victims, Simon Doggart, to carry out the abuse the BBC has claimed.
Doggart, who has been the head teacher of Caldicott preparatory school in Buckinghamshire for the last 20 years, was allegedly recruited by Smyth who asked him to administer further beatings to his friends.
There is no suggestion that he has ever harmed any of his pupils at Caldicott Preparatory School. “John Smyth beat me first, appallingly, with his usual force. Then Simon Doggart took over while John watched”, said one victim who wished to be anonymous. “I recall immediately the absolute brutality of his beating – far, far worse than Smyth. There was no discussion, no emotion that I recall, just a fit sports man using all his force. “Then it was over, this was going to be the new regime,” he told the BBC…. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/04/11/john-smyth-recruited-victim-now-head-top-prep-school-help/

November 29, 2016 Comments Off on I Was Raised In A Cult. Here’s My Advice For Trump’s New World, Hate Crimes Are Rising, Trump Maintains His Bizarre Relationship with Conspiracy-Pushing Website, ‘Make America White Again’: Hate speech, Australian Jehovah’s Witnesses protected over a thousand members accused of child abuse, Child abuse unreported and ‘enabled’ at Yeshivah, How mind control encourages silence

– I Was Raised In A Cult. Here’s My Advice For Trump’s New World.
– Hate Crimes Are Rising But Don’t Expect Them to be Prosecuted
– After the Election, Trump Maintains His Bizarre Relationship with Conspiracy-Pushing Website
– ‘Make America White Again’: Hate speech and crimes post-election
– Australian Jehovah’s Witnesses protected over a thousand members accused of child abuse, report says
– Child abuse unreported and ‘enabled’ at Yeshivah, Royal Commission finds
– Ritual Abuse and Its Political Implications – How mind control encourages silenceI Was Raised In A Cult. Here’s My Advice For Trump’s New World.
For the past half-year, I’ve watched some of the scariest parts of my childhood reality play out.
11/28/2016 Heidi Hough
….I grew up in a dogmatic, narrow-minded world that hated outsiders. My fundamentalist group called itself “The Church.” Everyone outside us was in “The World.” We used the word “tremendous” liberally.
We had a tremendous post-Armageddon future in the clouds as the Bride of Christ! The levels of our hate for outsiders not like us were tremendous! The fact that we insiders ‘deserved it’ and no one else did? You guessed it: tremendous.
My group’s leader was overweight and imposing, bursting with self-satisfaction and mocking insults, a businessman who continues to build billions off the backs of unpaid others. My former leader’s message is that he has the one truth and is the answer to defeating and eliminating the bad guys who have messed up our world. He calls a lawyer the minute anyone has something negative to say about him, and, unless cornered by his own words or actions, he never, ever admits to the slightest wrongdoing….
Our new president’s campaign said anyone who disagrees with him is “bad.” In the, apparent “better world” he was offering, at least pre-election, his opponents should be put in prison and “bad hombres” ?— ?based on his determination of who that is? — ?should be shipped out. Guantanamo should be kept open and anyone “not a good guy, trust me,” again, according to him, should be tossed in.
Just like back in my fundamentalist group.
The Church’s main song in my teen years was “A Great Awesome Army.” It was written to the melody of the former Soviet Union’s national anthem and we pumped our stiff right arms in the air in unison to songs about death and destruction to our “enemies.” We all dressed the same. We rode a band-wagon of group-think based on frustration and fantasy.
No matter what America’s new president said or did in his campaign his followers backed him. They laughed at the all right moments, booed at others, pumped their arms in unison, and wore matching t’s like ‘lock ’em up’ about anyone, who might disagree….
I have a message for the Trump supporters. The World understands. Truly. You want change. You haven’t found yourselves in fair situations. You’re tired of empty promises. We’ve heard you, loud and clear.
But as a former member of an extremist mindset, let me tell you: Your leader reminds me of my own former one, and he was a dangerous fraud. He didn’t bring about the change you are rooting for. He did not make our lives better.He was lying. He was using us. Your leader might also endanger you, us, and every freedom our collective constitution, left or right, Christian or Muslim, black or white is built on, while telling you that he is honoring that very same….http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/i-was-raised-in-a-cult-like-trumps-heres-my-advice-for-a-new-world_us_583c7ab9e4b0c2ab94436c31

Hate Crimes Are Rising But Don’t Expect Them to be Prosecuted
Most aren’t even reported to law enforcement.
Brandon Ellington Patterson Nov. 25, 2016
Last week, the FBI announced there were 5,850 hate crimes in 2015—a 7 percent increase over the year before. But that total, which is based on voluntary reports of hate crimes from local and state police departments, is likely far lower than the real number. The Bureau of Justice Statistics estimated about 260,000 hate crimes annually in a 2013 report looking at hate crimes between 2007 and 2011. The BJS’s estimate was based on anonymous responses to the National Crime Victimization Survey, which the bureau conducts every year.
But most of those crimes are never heard by a jury. Federal prosecutors pressed forward with just 13 percent of hate crime cases referred to them between January 2010 and August 2015, according to an analysis of DOJ data by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) at Syracuse University, and only 11 percent of those referrals ended in conviction. Data on hate crime prosecutions at the state level are scarce, but, in its 2013 study, the Bureau of Justice Statistics found that only 4 percent of these crimes even result in an arrest.
Given the apparent extent of the problem, why do so few hate crimes end up in court?
One reason is that these crimes never get reported to law enforcement….
Brian Levin is concerned that federal enforcement of the hate crimes act could weaken during a Trump administration, with his nomination of Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) for attorney general. “I think it remains a legitimate question as to how vigorous Mr. Sessions will be in prosecuting a statute that he was one of the chief opponents of,” Levin says.
Sessions’ nomination has already been contested by civil rights groups because of a series of racist comments he reportedly made early in his career. He was also a strong opponent of the federal hate crimes act. The law extended hate crime protections to members of the LGBT community and expanded the DOJ’s ability to direct federal resources to assist local and state police departments with hate crime investigations in their jurisdictions. It also mandated that the attorney general—or a designee—approve all criminal prosecutions brought under the act.
In 2015, there was a 7 percent increase in hate crimes nationwide and a sharp, 67 percent increase in crimes against Muslims. The Southern Poverty Law Center tallied more than 700 incidents of intimidation and harassment in the week after the election, many of them in schools, and at least two recent killings of black men—one outside of Richmond, California and another in Charleston, West Virginia—are being investigated as hate crimes. Law enforcement officials in several cities have vowed to crack down on hate crimes in their jurisdictions….http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/11/heres-why-hate-crimes-are-so-hard-prosecuteAfter the Election, Trump Maintains His Bizarre Relationship with Conspiracy-Pushing Website
His claim of millions of illegal votes is straight from the 9/11 truthers of “Infowars.”
AJ Vicens Nov. 28, 2016
On the Sunday after Thanksgiving, as part of a multi-tweet rant against Green Party candidate Jill Stein’s recount effort in Wisconsin (and perhaps Michigan and Pennsylvania), President-elect Donald Trump questioned the integrity of the 2016 election.
In addition to winning the Electoral College in a landslide, I won the popular vote if you deduct the millions of people who voted illegally
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 27, 2016
Trump won 306 Electoral College votes to Clinton’s 232 (Michigan’s 16 were called for him today); so his victory was not exactly a landslide. But the bigger lie was that “millions” of people voted illegally, for which there is no evidence. Clinton’s lead of more than 2 million votes in the popular vote, and her campaign’s recent announcement that it would participate in the recount organized by Stein, seemed to have inspired yesterday’s tweet. But its origins trace back to a right-wing conspiracy theory that began to take hold shortly after the election….
If Trump got his information for this weekend’s tweet from Infowars, it wouldn’t be the first time Team Trump cited this bizarre and unreliable source. Infowars, a conspiracy theory website run by Alex Jones, has been one of the Trump campaign’s go-to sources of information. On September 8, the candidate’s son Donald Trump Jr. tweeted the Infowars story “Was Hillary Wearing an Earpiece During Last Night’s Presidential Forum?” Trump himself has used the site’s work to bolster way-out claims, including his references to Clinton’s alleged poor health and his false assertion that “thousands and thousands” of American Muslims were celebrating the 9/11 attacks in New Jersey. Trump appeared on Jones’ internet-based talk show in December 2015 and told him, “Your reputation is amazing. I will not let you down.” Roger Stone, a longtime Trump adviser and a conspiracy theorist who claims LBJ killed JFK, has often appeared on Infowars, and he held joint events with Jones at the Republican convention in Cleveland in July. At that convention, Jones had “special guest” credentials.
Following the election, Jones claimed that Trump called to thank him and his listeners “for fighting so hard for Americans, and for Americanism.” A spokeswoman for Trump did not respond to a request for comment….http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/11/trump-alex-jones-conspiracy-illegal-votes

‘Make America White Again’: Hate speech and crimes post-election
By Holly Yan, Kristina Sgueglia and Kylie Walker, CNN
Mon November 28, 2016
(CNN)Fears of heightened bigotry and hate crimes have turned into reality for some Americans after Donald Trump’s presidential win. And the list of incidents keeps growing.
The Southern Poverty Law Center counted more than 700 cases of hateful harassment or intimidation in the United States between November 9 and November 16.
The number of reported incidents declined almost every day from November 9, the day after the election, to November 16. But the incidents have been widespread, the SPLC said.
“They’ve been everywhere — in schools, in places of business like Walmart, on the street,” SPLC President Richard Cohen said.
Critics accused Trump of fostering xenophobia and Islamophobia during the divisive presidential campaign. Recent days have witnessed ugly episodes of racist or anti-Semitic, pro-Trump graffiti along with threats or attacks against Muslims.
The President-elect said he was “so saddened” to hear about vitriol hurled by some of his supporters against minorities.
“If it helps, I will say this, and I will say right to the cameras: Stop it,” Trump told CBS’ “60 Minutes.”
Not all incidents are spurred by Trump supporters. A man in Chicago reportedly was beaten as a bystander yelled, “You voted Trump!” And two men in Connecticut were arrested over assault allegations against a Trump supporter.
The election-related incidents follow a year of heightened attacks against Muslim Americans. US Attorney General Loretta Lynch said FBI statistics for 2015 showed a 67% increase in hate crimes against Muslim Americans. Hate crimes against Jewish people, African Americans and LGBT individuals also increased.
Overall, reported hate crimes spiked 6%, but the number could be higher because many incidents go unreported, Lynch said….http://www.cnn.com/2016/11/10/us/post-election-hate-crimes-and-fears-trnd/

Australian Jehovah’s Witnesses protected over a thousand members accused of child abuse, report says
By Samantha Schmidt November 28, 2016
Over the course of about six decades, more than 1,000 members of the Jehovah’s Witnesses were accused of sexually abusing Australian children, according to a new report. Victims were ordered to keep quiet. Not one of the alleged perpetrators were reported to the police.
Now, a royal commission in Australia has found the church demonstrated a “serious failure” to protect children from the risk of sexual abuse and relied on outdated policies and practices to respond to such allegations.
A 107-page-long report released Monday detailed a number of ancient policies that exhibited what the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse referred to as a “serious lack of understanding of the nature of child sexual abuse.”
One such practice, derived from scripture, requires church elders investigating incidents to secure a confession from the person accused or the testimony of two “credible” witnesses to the same incident, two witnesses to separate incidents of the same kind, or strong circumstantial evidence testified to by at least two witnesses. The accuser also has to justify his or her allegations to church elders, often in front of the alleged perpetrator.
The commission’s findings were based on a close examination of the allegations — which averaged one a month for 65 years and were recorded in sealed files along with the church’s responses — along with the findings of a 2015 public hearing.
The report found that the Jehovah’s Witness organization’s internal system for responding to complaints of child sexual abuse was not child or survivor focused, “in that it is presided over by males and offers a survivor little or no choice about how their complaint is addressed.”
“The sanctions available within the organization’s internal disciplinary system are weak and leave perpetrators of child sexual abuse at large in the organization and the community,” the report also concluded….https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2016/11/28/australian-jehovahs-witnesses-protected-over-a-thousand-members-accused-of-child-abuse-report-says/

Child abuse unreported and ‘enabled’ at Yeshivah, Royal Commission finds
Timna Jacks November 29 2016
Leaders at Yeshivah Melbourne and Yeshiva Bondi have been accused of failing to report child abuse to police and allowed paedophiles unfettered access to children, in strongly-worded findings of the royal commission.
The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse released findings of high-profile investigations into child abuse at the religious Jewish institutions on Tuesday.
The Orthodox centres, which operate as synagogues, schools and community hubs, followed a worrying “pattern” in responding to child abuse, the commission found.
In the face of repeated reports of child abuse, the institutions assured victims they would act in defence of the victim, but no action was ultimately taken, the commission said.
“We were told that the responses of leadership groups to the adverse experiences of survivors and their families ranged from inaction to enabling those adverse experiences. The responses were perhaps in part to protect the reputations of individuals or the institutions concerned.”….
The commission found that despite reports of child sexual abuse, they had a “continued association with, presence at or employment at the institutions”.
Abuse was often not reported due to a Jewish law, known as Mesirah, which forbids a Jew from handing over another Jew to a secular authority.
As a result, victims who reported their abuse to police were treated as “outcasts”, the commission heard.
“We heard evidence that those perceived by some in the community to be sinners because of communication about child sexual abuse, and family members of those perceived to be sinners, were met with disapproval by some leaders of the community and by some members of the community more generally.”….http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/child-abuse-unreported-and-enabled-at-yeshivah-royal-commission-finds-20161129-gszwek.htmlHow to Avoid Being Mind Controlled at a Conference http://neilbrick.com/articles/how-to-avoid-being-mind-controlled-at-a-conference/

Ritual Abuse and Its Political Implications by Neil Brick http://ritualabuse.us/ritualabuse/articles/ritual-abuse-and-its-political-implications/
Ritual Abuse and Its Political Implications
As a survivor of ritual abuse and mind control, I have personally had the opportunity to examine how I was discouraged from expressing myself and forced to follow others. This eventually caused me to constantly examine my surroundings and create my own intellectual reality.
I have seen others blindly follow proscribed sex roles in terms of dress, behavior and career and blindly follow proscribed religious and political guidelines. I somehow seem to have escaped much of this, only following what was absolutely necessary to survive in the world….How mind control encourages silence
from BR : “When my abusers were raping me, they had me convinced that nobody would believe me if I told, and if that didn’t deter me, they would kill me….In her book Thinking Class, Joanna Kadi writes: Child sexual abuse teaches us lessons about power- who has it and who doesn’t. These lessons, experienced on a bodily level, transfer into the deepest levels of our conscious and subconscious being, and correspond with other oppressive systems. Widespread child sexual abuse supports a racist, sexist, classist and ableist society that attempts to train citizens into docility and unthinking acceptance of whatever the government and big business deem fit to hand out

November 22, 2016 Comments Off on Turkey should reject child abuse law shielding men who marry from punishment: U.N., Turkey child rape protests, Growing up with The Family “sinister cult”

– Turkey should reject child abuse law shielding men who marry from punishment: U.N.
– Turkey child rape protests: Thousands take to streets against law that would let men off if they marry victim
– Growing up with The Family: inside Anne Hamilton-Byrne’s sinister cult
Turkey should reject child abuse law shielding men who marry from punishment: U.N.
By Umberto Bacchi Mon Nov 21, 2016
LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – A bill that could allow men accused of sexually abusing girls in Turkey to avoid punishment if they marry their victim would create a climate of impunity for child abuse in the country, U.N. agencies warned on Monday.
The Turkish parliament gave preliminary backing to the controversial proposal put forward by the ruling AK Party last week.
MPs are due resume the debate on Tuesday before a second and final vote.
Several U.N. agencies criticized the legislation, which they said was akin to an amnesty for child abusers and could expose victims to further suffering at the hands of their abusers.
“Any forms of sexual violence against children are crimes which should be punished as such,” the U.N. children’s agency UNICEF, the United Nations Population Fund, UNFPA, U.N. Women and the U.N. Development Programme in Turkey said in a joint statement on Monday.
“We call on all Members of the Turkish Grand National Assembly to do their utmost in ensuring that all girls and boys in Turkey are better protected from all forms of sexual abuse.”…http://www.reuters.com/article/us-turkey-politics-law-sexcrimes-idUSKBN13G22K

Turkey child rape protests: Thousands take to streets against law that would let men off if they marry victim
‘We will not shut up. We will not obey. Withdraw the bill immediately,’ chant protesters
Harriet Agerholm Sunday 20 November 2016
Thousands have taken to the streets of Istanbul and other cities in Turkey to protest against a bill that would allow child rapists to walk free if they marry their victims.
The country’s government insists the law would help resolve legal challenges caused by widespread child marriage in the country, yet critics argue the bill legitimises rape.
In Istanbul, protesters clapped and chanted: “We will not shut up. We will not obey. Withdraw the bill immediately.”
About 3,000 people gathered in Istanbul’s Kadikoy square, many waving placards that said: “Rape cannot be legitimised,” and “AKP, take your hands off my body” – in reference to the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) that proposed the bill.
Similar demonstrations were held in other cities, including Ankara, Izmir and Trabzon.
If the law passes, men who sexually abuse girls under 18 without “force, threat or any restriction on consent” and marry them could have their convictions quashed or avoid prosecution….
The proposed change would apply to cases between 2005 and 16 November 2016.http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/turkey-child-rape-protest-thousands-law-men-freed-marry-victim-istanbul-ankara-izmir-akp-erdogan-a7428166.html
Growing up with The Family: inside Anne Hamilton-Byrne’s sinister cult
Cruel and charismatic, Anne Hamilton-Byrne was the Australian leader of a doomsday cult who thought she was the Messiah. Abigail Haworth on the woman behind The Family
Abigail Haworth Sunday 20 November 2016
Anne Hamilton-Byrne…leader of The Family, the Australian doomsday cult she founded in the 1960s, she claimed to be Jesus reborn as a woman.
….One of the few female cult leaders in history – and apparently one of the cruellest – Hamilton-Byrne operated in almost total secrecy over two decades. Hidden away in the countryside outside Melbourne, The Family’s motto was “Unseen, unknown, unheard”. The police, acting on information from two child escapees, raided the cult in 1987. It emerged that over the years Hamilton-Byrne had collected 28 children through bogus adoptions and “gifts” from followers, dressing them in identical clothes and bleaching their hair platinum. To keep her eerie brood under her control, they say she subjected them to vicious beatings, starvation and emotional torture.
“Anne wasn’t giving love,” says Parker, whose young son was one of Hamilton-Byrne’s victims. “She was offering it and then taking it back. She broke people’s spirit.”
The glamorous guru used the same tactic on her adult followers, handpicking them from Melbourne’s wealthy professional elite with promises of spiritual fulfilment in the 1960s and 70s when new age seeking was all the rage. “I’ve been waiting for you,” she’d say on first meeting a potential recruit. “You are special
Preaching a mishmash of Christianity, eastern mysticism and apocalyptic prophecy, she allegedly forced followers, including children, to take dangerous amounts of LSD and other hallucinogenics as part of prolonged initiation rites. Once they had submitted, she’d dictate every aspect of their lives. “There was only one rule: do absolutely everything she said,” says David Whitaker, a former child survivor. “That included what to think, what to wear, what to eat, who to marry, who not to marry. Total obedience.”
The children were initiated with ‘huge, relentless doses of LSD’ in trips that lasted for days…
By the time of the police raid, Hamilton-Byrne had broken up families, destroyed marriages and left her child victims with lifelong psychological scars. A number of followers tried to kill themselves, either during their time in The Family or after they escaped. Tragically, some succeeded. The cult leader amassed an estimated AU$150m (£90m) through property, land and cash donated by followers. She hid overseas and was eventually arrested in 1993 on relatively minor fraud charges….https://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/nov/20/growing-up-with-the-family-inside-anne-hamilton-byrnes-sinister-cult

– Brad Pitt cleared of wrongdoing after child abuse investigation
– Cult or Commune? How Utopian Communities Turn Dangerous
– Marina Abramovic mention in Podesta emails sparks accusations of satanism
Brad Pitt cleared of wrongdoing after child abuse investigation
By Sandra Gonzalez, Chloe Melas and Lisa France
Thu November 10, 2016 CNN
Actor Brad Pitt has been cleared of wrongdoing by officials after a child abuse investigation.
A source familiar with the situation told CNN on Wednesday that Pitt has been cleared by the Los Angeles County Department of Child and Family Services (DCFS) in its investigation of an alleged incident of abuse involving Pitt and one of his children.
The accusation stemmed from an incident on a private plane in September — occurring one day before Angelina Jolie filed for divorce from Pitt after two years of marriage.
At the time, a source with knowledge of the situation told CNN that Pitt was “taking this very seriously” and had cooperated with authorities…http://www.cnn.com/2016/11/09/entertainment/brad-pitt-cleared-child-abuse-investigation/index.html

Cult or Commune? How Utopian Communities Turn DangerousFrom religious factions of the 1840s to the Buddahfield community profiled in this year’s ‘Holy Hell,’ a look at how a community can cross a line
By Elizabeth Yuko November 10, 2016
In 1985, 22-year-old aspiring filmmaker Will Allen joined a community called Buddhafield at the suggestion of his sister, after his family didn’t accept him when he came out as gay. For 22 years, Allen documented life inside the cult as their videographer. The resulting 35 hours of footage comprises the basis of the documentary Holy Hell, which provides audiences with an intimate look at life inside this non-traditional community.
In the beginning, at least, it appeared that Buddhafield was attempting to revive the 19th-century concept of a Utopian community: a group of people living together working towards enlightenment. The leader, Michel Rostand, kept his followers focused on healthy living (no alcohol, drugs, caffeine or red meat, along with mandatory exercise), abstaining from sex and meditating frequently.
The group appeared to be a positive force on its members – yet the documentary tells a story of sexual, psychological and emotional abuse that allegedly took place behind-the-scenes at Buddhafield. On the surface, it looked like Allen found his place in a group of happy, healthy, like-minded individuals – but underneath, the community had problematic secrets….
What’s the difference between a group of people that live and work together to achieve well-being, and a full-fledged cult?….
Yet communes, for many, evoke the potential for groups to become more controlling and sinister in nature. Many of the most notorious cults in America started in the mid-20th century yet remain vividly in the public consciousness because of their bizarre and sometimes violent practices. These groups originated as offshoots of established religions or were influenced by social and civil movements. For example the Branch Davidians and the Children of God – formed in 1955 and 1968, respectively – both have their roots in Christianity, but because of deceptive and charismatic leaders, they devolved into cults. In 1993, more than 80 people died during the Branch Davidians’ standoff with the FBI in Waco, Texas, and the Children of God – also known as the Family – not only believed having sex with children was permissible, they claimed it was a divine right. Other cults like the Manson Family and the Peoples Temple – infamous for the Jonestown massacre of 1978 which left 909 people dead – attracted members based on social and cultural beliefs. In the case of the Manson Family, it was the fringe idea of inciting a race war, while the People’s Temple drew more mainstream followers as a progressive organization advocating for civil rights….
….there are four important elements of mind control to consider when attempting to determine whether a group can be considered a cult. Known as the BITE Model, it takes into account the group’s control of an individual’s behavior, intellect, thoughts and emotions (hence BITE) and can be applied to anything from religions to terrorism organizations to cults.
The BITE model includes something Hassan calls the Influence Continuum, providing examples of healthy and constructive – and unhealthy and destructive – actions for individuals, leaders, organizations and relationships. The continuum indicates that a person free from influence has an authentic self, capable of critical thinking, free will and creativity. On the other end of the spectrum is an individual with a false identity whose actions are motivated by fear, guilt and obedience….http://www.rollingstone.com/culture/features/cult-or-commune-how-utopian-communities-turn-dangerous-w449034

Marina Abramovic mention in Podesta emails sparks accusations of satanismAn email from the artist forwarded by Clinton’s campaign chief has been seized on by the right as proof that the Democratic candidate has links with the occult
Performance artist Marina Abramovic has become an unlikely source of fear for rightwing groups after her name was mentioned in the Podesta emails.
‘I face so much jealousy’: Marina Abramovic talks friends, enemies and fear
In a leaked email between Clinton’s campaign chairman, John Podesta, and his brother Tony Podesta, an invitation from Abramovic is forwarded. It reads: “I am so looking forward to the Spirit Cooking dinner at my place. Do you think you will be able to let me know if your brother is joining?”
The act of spirit cooking involves Abramovic using pig’s blood as a way of connecting with the spiritual world, to cook up thoughts rather than food. A video of the practice shows her writing various statements with the blood, such as “with a sharp knife cut deeply into your middle finger eat the pain”.
Abramovic is known, and lauded, for work that focuses on pain, blood and the relationship between the performer and the audience. Her work has won many awards, including the Golden Lion at Venice….
Abramovic spoke about the reaction today to Artnews. “I’m outraged, because this is taken completely out of my context,” she said. “It was just a normal dinner. It was actually just a normal menu, which I call spirit cooking. There was no blood, no anything else. We just call things funny names, that’s all.”
She also claimed that those referring to her body of work as satanic are mistaken. “My work is really more about spirituality and not anything else,” she said. “I’ve been doing my work for so long, and this is a misunderstanding. It’s absolutely outrageous and ridiculous … I mean, this world is really turning to hell. I am completely amazed, something is taken out of context for the purpose of winning. We are living in such a strange world.”https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2016/nov/04/marina-abramovic-podesta-clinton-emails-satanism-accusationsstopritualabuse – Google+https://plus.google.com/+stopritualabusetoday child abuse, ritual abuse and mind control research
stopchildabuseWe publish scientific information about ritual abuse and trauma crimes.https://stopchildabuse.tumblr.com/post/151367031549/stop-mind-control-and-ritual-abuse-today

Neil Brick Celebrates Twenty Five Years of Research, Education and Advocacy in the Child Abuse Prevention Field
Neil Brick has developed Internet resources to publish scientific information about child and ritual abuse. He publishes a bimonthly newsletter and organizes informational conferences. The goal of these resources is to help stop child and ritual abuse through public education.http://www.webwire.com/ViewPressRel.asp?aId=206012

October 26, 2016 Comments Off on More Members of Alleged Church Cult Plead Guilty in Teen’s Fatal Beating, Jimmy Savile was part of satanic ring, Hosanna Church: Satanist paedophile ring ‘ritually raped up to 25 children’, Colin Batley: Victim of satanic sex cult speaks out about a lifetime of horror, Satanic sex cult leader guilty of child rape, Child and Ritual Abuse Research

4 More Members of Alleged Church Cult Plead Guilty in Teen’s Fatal Beating – Word of Life Christian ChurchJimmy Savile was part of satanic ring
JIMMY SAVILE beat and raped a 12-year-old girl during a secret satanic ritual in a hospital.Hosanna Church – Louis Lamonica
– Agents graphically describe abuse
– Satanist paedophile ring ‘ritually raped up to 25 children’
– The Devil’s Handiwork? A church laid waste by its pastor’s bizarre behavior.
– [Hosanna Church] Witnesses speak of cult-like activities at Hosanna
– 7 Members of Louisiana Church Charged With Abuse of ChildrenColin Batley – Kidwelly, Wales
– The Devil on the Doorstep – My Escape From a Satanic Sex Cult – Victim of satanic sex cult speaks out
– ‘My mother was an evil woman and I’ll never forgive her’: Victim of satanic sex cult speaks out about a lifetime of horror
– Satanic sex cult leader guilty of child rape
– Guilty: Paedo cult’s demon ‘Lord’
– My ‘cult sex’ at 15
– ‘Tattooed child sex cult in cul-de-sac’
– Colin Batley was self-styled high priest of group that handed children around for sex in Kidwelly, west WalesChild and Ritual Abuse Research

4 More Members of Alleged Church Cult Plead Guilty in Teen’s Fatal Beating
By Chris Harris October 25, 2016
The 30-year-old pastor of a small religious group that former members insist is a cult has pleaded guilty to manslaughter and assault, thus avoiding murder charges in a 2015 attack on two of her church members, PEOPLE confirms.
Her plea — along with the pleas of three other church members on Friday — comes little more than a year after two teenage brothers were savagely beaten over a dozen hours for what prosecutors said was their plan to defect from the upstate New York congregation.
Under the terms of a deal brokered by prosecutors, Tiffanie Irwin, the leader of the Word of Life Christian Church in Chadwicks, New York, pleaded guilty on Friday to two felonies: third-degree manslaughter and second-degree assault.
Irwin will avoid a murder prosecution for 19-year-old Lucas Leonard’s killing, thanks to the plea agreement, which recommends a 12-year prison sentence.
Last fall, Leonard and his then-17-year-old brother, Christopher Leonard, were pummeled by several church members, including their own parents. Lucas eventually died from injuries he sustained in the attack.
Prosecutors contend the beatings began soon after both brothers approached church leaders with their plans to leave the secretive congregation. But in the spring, Christopher, who sustained severe injuries during the beatings, testified that he and his brother had molested the children of several of the church’s members, including his half-sister’s infant child….http://people.com/crime/word-of-life-church-defendants-pastor-guilty-pleas/

Jimmy Savile was part of satanic ring
JIMMY SAVILE beat and raped a 12-year-old girl during a secret satanic ritual in a hospital.
By James Fielding
Sun, Jan 13, 2013
The perverted star wore a hooded robe and mask as he abused the terrifi ed victim in a candle-lit basement.
He also chanted “Hail Satan” in Latin as other paedophile devil worshippers joined in and assaulted the girl at Stoke Mandeville Hospital in Buckinghamshire. The attack, which happened in 1975, shines a sinister new light on the former DJ’s 54-year reign of terror.
Savile, who died aged 84 in October 2011, is now Britain’s worst sex offender after police revealed he preyed on at least 450 victims aged eight to 47.
The girl kept her torment hidden for nearly 20 years before finally opening up to therapist Valerie Sinason.
Dr Sinason told the Sunday Express she first spoke to the victim in 1992. “She had been a patient at Stoke Mandeville in 1975 when Savile was a regular visitor.
“She recalled being led into a room that was filled with candles on the lowest level of the hospital, somewhere that was not regularly used by staff. Several adults were there, including Jimmy Savile who, like the others, was wearing a robe and a mask….http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/370439/Jimmy-Savile-was-part-of-satanic-ring

Agents graphically describe abuse
By Don Ellzey 11/30/07
In an interview with Bernard at the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff’s Office Substation on June 10, 2005….She said Bernard described the rituals at the church, although the rituals were not the point of the FBI investigation. Freitas said he volunteered the information. According to Bernard, the rituals took place in what was called “the room,” which was the church’s youth room. He described how six adults would line up shoulder to shoulder and perform sex acts on his daughter or other children, who were passed down the line. The rule was that there would be no penetration or injury.
The rituals had a Satanic theme, including a Pentagram, the use of animals and animal parts such as chicken feet and the use of animal blood. Freitas said that according to Bernard, Patricia Pierson and Robin Lamonica, two defendants in the case, put animal blood on his daughter during one of the rites. She said Bernard claimed Pierson and Lamonica also sexually abused his daughter. He said animal blood was also put on other children, Freitas said….Using a special chemical, a search team found signs of body fluids all over the carpet, she said. Pieces of the carpet with fluid spots were cut out for evidence.http://www.hammondstar.com/articles/2007/12/03/top_stories/9453.txtSatanist paedophile ring ‘ritually raped up to 25 children’
By Tom Leonard in Ponchatoula 6/3/05
“In a case that has horrified Americans way beyond the Bible Belt, Louis Lamonica Jnr and eight members the Hosanna Church are accused of being members of a Satanic paedophile ring who ritually raped up to 25 children, as well as performing animal sacrifices.
Police say some of those charged – who include Lamonica’s wife and a deputy sheriff – have already admitted devil worship inside the now defunct church on the outskirts of Ponchatoula, the parish’s main town.
The discovery of badly rubbed-out pentagrams on the floor and eight boxes of hooded black costumes – allegedly used both in the abuse and in “morality tales” performed to prepare the young victims – bear out some of the claims.”http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/1491327/Satanist-paedophile-ring-ritually-raped-up-to-25-children.htmlThe Devil’s Handiwork? A church laid waste by its pastor’s bizarre behavior.
By Sarah Childress – Newsweek June 6 issue
Louis Lamonica walked into the sheriff’s department in tiny Livingston, La., a few weeks ago and asked to speak with a detective. According to police, for almost the next two hours the middle-aged preacher, dressed casually in a green polo shirt and green slacks, proceeded to tell a story so sickening they could scarcely believe what they were hearing. He explained that he was the former pastor of Hosanna Church, a now defunct house of worship in nearby Ponchatoula.
Matter-of-factly and without remorse, Lamonica said that he and other church members had molested children, and taught them to have sex with each other, as well as with a dog. He told the detectives that he drank cat blood, and poured it on the bodies of his young victims, according to Ponchatoula Police Chief David Vitter….
After Lamonica’s confession, authorities arrested eight other members of the Hosanna Church congregation, including Lamonica’s wife, Robbin, and a Tangipahoa Parish sheriff’s deputy. Police say that church members abused as many as two dozen children, one only a year old, beginning in 1999, in rituals that they say may be tied to devil worship.http://www.religionnewsblog.com/11315/the-devils-handiwork[Hosanna Church] Witnesses speak of cult-like activities at Hosanna
The Daily Star, USA 5/25/05 Aimee Yee http://www.hammondstar. com
People dressed in black clothing stood inside pentagrams and performed blood rituals at the Hosanna Church, according to information coming from an investigation by the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff’s Office. The nine suspects now in custody are believed to have been involved in the ritualistic practice of molesting and raping children from 1999 to 2003, when the church disbanded. Since the story broke on May 17, details of the abuse believed to have taken place at the church has become more explicit and graphic.
“The sheriff said there were cult-like activities involved,” Covington said. “Some witnesses said the blood rituals took place inside pentagrams there at the church.”
The pentagrams have been cleaned away, likely by the suspects involved, Covington said, who used solvents and are now reporting to police exactly where the five-pointed stars, usually made with alternate points connected by a continuous line and used as a magic symbol, were located.
Victims have said the suspects wore black clothing while the rituals took place….http://www.religionnewsblog.com/11276/Witnesses-speak-of-cult-like-activities-at-Hosanna7 Members of Louisiana Church Charged With Abuse of Children By Ariel Hart 5/20/05 The pastor of a Louisiana church and six of its members, including the pastor’s wife and a sheriff’s deputy, have been arrested in what the police described as a cult-like sex ring that abused children and animals. All seven are being held on charges of aggravated rape, including rape of a child younger than 13, which can be prosecuted as a capital crime in the state, the authorities said. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/20/national/20louisiana.html

The Devil on the Doorstep – My Escape From a Satanic Sex Cult – Victim of satanic sex cult speaks out
September 23, 2014
‘I was a schoolgirl by day and sex slave at night’: Victim of satanic sex cult speak out Sep 21, 2014 By Cathy Owen
Annabelle Forest was initiated into a sex cult when she was just seven, and was even abused by her own mother
The victim of a satanic sex cult has told how she will never forgive her “evil” mother for putting her through 11 years of hell at the hands of the sick group.
Annabelle Forest was initiated into a notorious sex cult that operated from a quiet Welsh cul-de-sac by her own mum at the age of seven.
Even worse, she was abused by her mother as a teenager under the orders of the cult’s leader Colin Batley – the man she can’t even bring herself to name.
Now a mum herself and living happily in another part of the UK, Annabelle has taken the brave step of recounting her horror in a bid to get others to speak out about suspected abuse.
She told WalesOnline : “Nothing can hurt me as much as my mum and that man.”
“My mother was an evil woman and I’ll never forgive her.”
Annabelle has written a book that tells how she was just seven-years-old when first forced to watch her mother perform a sex act on Batley.
At the age of 11 she raped by him in her own home and three years later she was made to take part in group sex with her mother.
Batley was given an indeterminate sentence for public protection in 2011 with a recommendation he spend at least 11 years in jail….
Now Annabelle has revealed the true extent of the horror she suffered at the hands of the cul-de-sac cult in her memoir The Devil on The Doorstep: My Escape from a Satanic Sex Cult.
The cult’s twisted ideology, based on a bizarre text called the Book of the Law by Aleister Crowley, formed the backdrop to Annabelle’s childhood.
The children of the cult, based in a small cul-de-sac in Kidwelly, were cut off from other children, forced to take part in long church services and obey Batley’s every whim.
“We weren’t even allowed to look in his eyes,” says Annabelle.
“He ruled our little community with an iron will and we were made to do what he ordered for fear of angering the Gods.”
In Batley’s ‘Church’, children were led to believe they were proving themselves to the Gods by passing tests, which usually involved sex with either him or other cult members….
By the time of her escape she had slept with over 1,800 men – the proceeds of which had all gone towards ‘the Church’.
In 2011, her evidence helped convict Batley for life as well as three others, including her mother….
“It was astonishing to me that people who came into contact with these children thought they were behaving this way out of choice. When you have control over a child and you can intimidate them, they will do anything you say.
“It was the same for me. Too many people looked away, too many people ignored the signs. It astonishes me that we lived in that small cul-de-sac for so many years and not one person saw anything that gave them cause for concern,” she says….
“If there’s one thing I would like to achieve with my book, it would be for others to start really paying attention to the community they live in. You can’t just walk around living in a bubble. There are abused children everywhere – it just takes one person to see it and that life could be saved.”The Devil on The Doorstep: My Escape From a Satanic Sex Cult by Annabelle Forest, published by Simon & Schuster….http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/i-schoolgirl-day-sex-slave-4297534

‘My mother was an evil woman and I’ll never forgive her’: Victim of satanic sex cult speaks out about a lifetime of horror
Sep 21, 2014
By Cathy Owen
Victim of sex cult bravely recounts horror of 11 years under the rule of the Welsh ‘cul-de-sac cult’ in a bid to encourage others to speak out….http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/my-mother-evil-woman-ill-7803567The Devil on the Doorstep
My Escape From a Satanic Sex Cult
By Annabelle Forest
with: Katy Weitz
Annabelle Forest was just seven years old when she was inducted into a twisted sex cult by her own mother. For the next few years she was brainwashed by the cult’s leader, Colin Batley, who ran a harem of followers from his unassuming cul-de-sac in Kidwelly, Wales.
Batley ruled the cult with an iron will, his twisted ideology based on Aleister Crowley’s Book of the Law, which informed their day-to-day lives. From the age of 11, Annabelle was repeatedly raped by Batley, and threatened with going to hell if she angered ‘the gods’ by refusing Batley’s sick demands. Annabelle’s mother joined in the sessions and even filmed them.
Annabelle lived a double life – a schoolgirl by day, a sex slave at night. It might have endured for years had she not fallen pregnant at 17 with Batley’s baby. In February 2008 she gave birth to a daughter, Emily, who gave Annabelle hope and a reason to live. Now she knew she had to escape, especially after Batley forced her into prostitution when Emily was three months old.
She contacted relatives and found the courage to report Batley, her mother and the other cult members to the police. In 2011 her evidence helped convict 48-year-old Batley for life on 11 charges of rape and numerous other sexual offences. Annabelle’s mother was also jailed, along with two others in a case that came to be known as the ‘cul-de-sac cult’.http://books.simonandschuster.co.uk/Devil-on-the-Doorstep/Annabelle-Forest/9781471136689]Satanic sex cult leader guilty of child rape
March 12, 2011
By Hannah Thomas on Wednesday 9 March 2011 The quaint cul-de-sac of Kidwelly in west Wales has been stirred by news that a satanic cult has been carrying out sexual assaults and a string of child rapes over the past several decades within the small community.
Self-styled high priest, Colin Batley, was yesterday found guilty of conducting quasi-religious sex sessions involving children with his wife Elaine and fellow cult members Jacqueline Marling and Shelly Millar.
Batley began the sordid rituals by reading from The Book Of The Law, written more than 100 years ago by occultist Aleister Crowley, to brainwash his victims before ordering hooded cult members to have sex.
One victim was told she would be killed if she did not take part in an initiation ceremony, which concluded with sex. ‘I did it because I was told to by Colin,’ she sobbed as she gave evidence by videolink.
The cult leader was yesterday found guilty of 27 offences and warned by the judge at Swansea crown court that he faced a vast prison sentence. His wife and the two other women were also found guilty of a range of sexual offences and will be sentenced tomorrow.
Batley’s obsession with Satanism and Egyptian icons was well documented by police before his arrest last summer.http://www.marieclaire.co.uk/news/world/518740/satanic-sex-cult-leader-guilty-of-child-rape.html

Guilty: Paedo cult’s demon ‘Lord’ By JOHN COLES
10 Mar 2011 THE self-styled “Lord” of a black magic sex cult was facing jail last night – after being convicted of sexually abusing young children. Colin Batley, 48, ran a group whose members wore hooded robes for group sex and paedophile crimes over 15 years.
The scruffy Svengali surrounded himself with four “disciples” – wife Elaine, 47, and three other women – who helped him abuse youngsters.
All four women were tattooed on Batley’s orders with an Egyptian symbol, the Eye of Horus. At meetings, Batley read from an occult “bible” and told youngsters they would go to Hell if they did not agree to his sexual demands. Their “temple” was the Batleys’ semi-detached home on a sleepy cul-de-sac in Kidwelly, west Wales.
Jobless Batley, who charged members a quarter of their income, was exposed when a woman groomed for sex from age six went to cops. http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/3457120/Guilty-Paedophile-black-magic-cults-demon-Lord.htmlMy ‘cult sex’ at 15 By JOHN COLES 09 Feb 2011
A WOMAN yesterday told a court she was forced to have sex with the leader of a cult when she was just 15. The alleged victim said “evil” Colin Batley told her she would be killed if she didn’t take part in the sickening initiation ceremony.
She claimed she was then ordered to perform sex acts on Batley’s wife Elaine – and was taken to meetings where she had to have sex with men and women. The alleged victim, now an adult, said: “I was told I’d be killed if I didn’t become part of the cult. Colin Batley had a gun and took it to meetings. I was so scared I just did what I was told. I was in the living room at his home and he told me there would be an initiation. http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/3400359/My-cult-sex-at-15.html‘Tattooed child sex cult in cul-de-sac’ By JOHN COLES
03 Feb 2011 THREE couples and a woman pal moved from London to a cul-de-sac in rural Wales to set up a sick sex cult, a jury heard yesterday. They relocated over four years and were led by “evil and manipulative” Colin Batley, it was said. He allegedly persuaded the women to get identical tattoos and find youngsters for three-in-a-bed sex. He raped boys and girls, forced children to have sex with each other and ordered the women to join in, it was claimed.
Batley, 48, preached from a text known as The Book of The Law – while living off the earnings of women he forced into prostitution in Bristol, Swansea Crown Court was told.
Prosecutor Peter Murphy described Batley as a sexual predator who corrupted others to do his bidding through coercion and control. He added: “He is the principal.
“The four families became closely intertwined. It became much more than that – a cult. The usual restraints went out of the window.” http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/3387753/Court-hears-of-child-sex-cult-in-cul-de-sac-led-by-Colin-Batley.html

Colin Batley was self-styled high priest of group that handed children around for sex in Kidwelly, west Wales 9 March 2011
describes crimes
A man has been found guilty of leading a “satanic” sex cult from his home in a small Welsh town. Colin Batley, 48, of Kidwelly, west Wales, presided over a group that preyed on young children and held occult rites. He was found guilty at Swansea crown court of rape and carrying out perverted sexual acts on children and adults. Batley was the self-styled high priest of the group, which operated from a series of homes in a cul-de-sac in the seaside town. He and five other alleged members insisted throughout the five-week trial that no cult had ever existed.
But the jury dismissed that, finding him guilty of more than two dozen acts of sexual perversion linked to his activities in the cult. They included 11 separate rapes, three indecent assaults, causing prostitution for personal gain, causing a child to have sex and inciting a child to have sex. The jury also found him guilty of six counts of buggery and four counts of possessing indecent images of a child.
His wife, Elaine Batley, 47, was convicted of sex-related charges after the trial, as were Jacqueline Marling, 42, and Shelly Millar, 35. All lived in Kidwelly. …Colin Batley is said to have forced a number of his victims into prostitution and claimed 25% of their earnings. In one instance, the trial heard, Batley tried to force a pregnant schoolgirl to give birth. The girl, who had been raped by a cult member, was told all children conceived within the cult belonged to it.
New cult members, often deeply troubled children, were forced to go through an elaborate initiation ceremony. At its heart would be sex with an adult, with anyone unwilling to take part warned they risked being killed by a cult assassin.http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/mar/09/paedophile-satanic-cult-batley-kidwelly

October 7, 2016 Comments Off on How Well-Meaning Intelligent People End Up in a Cult, When ‘Religious Freedom’ Leaves Children Dead, Mind Control and Ritual Abuse

How Well-Meaning, Intelligent People End Up in a Cult
Sep 26, 2016 Video by The Atlantic
EnlightenNext was an organization, founded by self-styled guru Andrew Cohen, that aimed to facilitate spiritual awakening. Cohen’s most devoted students meditated for hours—at times, months—on end, were often celibate, and lived together. However, what started as an idealistic venture quickly turned into a complicated, often-sinister world that revolved around Cohen. The story of EnlightenNext’s rise and fall begs a deeper question: How do otherwise well-intentioned and rational people end up in a cult? In this documentary, The Atlantic talks to former members, as well as Cohen himself, about their stories in order to uncover the life span of a new religious movement that, after 27 years, collapsed nearly overnight.
Authors: Jaclyn Skurie, Nicolas Pollockhttp://www.theatlantic.com/video/index/501413/life-and-death-of-a-cult/When ‘Religious Freedom’ Leaves Children Dead
Many states don’t consider it “abuse” to rely on faith healings when kids get sick. Why isn’t this a bigger issue? Emma Green
….Crank “knew there was a problem” with the “grapefruit-sized tumor” on her daughter’s shoulder. But she believed Jesus “was the only Healer,” she said, “and through that belief we took it in our hands to pray for her, to heal her with prayer.”
It did not work. After the walk-in-clinic nurse called the police and Jessica was taken to the hospital, she was diagnosed with Ewing’s Sarcoma, a rare form of cancer. Getting medical care sooner likely wouldn’t have saved her, but it would have helped manage her symptoms and “positively impacted the quality of her life,” her pediatric oncologist testified. Jessica died in state custody at the age of 15.
Crank was found guilty of misdemeanor child neglect, along with the man she was living with, Ariel Ben Sherman, who had founded a small prayer group called the Universal Life Church a year earlier in Lenoir City. Their defense, they argued, was right in the Tennessee Code Annotated: Under state law, it wasn’t considered abuse or neglect for parents to seek “treatment by spiritual means through prayer alone” in lieu of medical care for their kids.
The case made it all the way up to the Tennessee Supreme Court. Sherman died while the case was on appeal, but Crank’s conviction was upheld: Because she wasn’t part of a “recognized church or religious denomination,” the Court held, she wasn’t entitled to the faith-healing defense. Her sentence was affirmed: Eleven months and 29 days, to be served on unsupervised probation.
The Court didn’t strike down the law, but one year later, the Tennessee legislature acted. This spring, it quietly repealed the faith-healing exemption in its child-neglect law, becoming one of just a handful of states that don’t provide any religious exemptions to civil or criminal charges of child neglect or abuse.
….Of all the people governments act to protect, children are perhaps the most vulnerable. Despite federal laws that seek to protect kids under 18 from neglect and abuse, there is no one definition across states of what “abuse” actually means, especially when it comes to families who rely on prayer and faith healings in place of medical care. In some places, if a child is injured, or dies, parents can use their state’s religious exemption as a defense against criminal charges.
The federal government started pushing states to pass these laws starting in 1974 under Richard Nixon’s administration. Largely because of lobbying efforts by Christian Scientists, the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, which later became the Department of Health and Human Services, determined that parents who don’t seek traditional medical care for their kids for religious reasons should not be held negligent. The agency threatened to withhold federal funding from states that didn’t allow similar accommodations. One by one, states codified religious defenses into their child abuse, endangerment, and neglect laws. Even as federal law has changed over the years, most of these laws have stayed on the books, equally distributed across states red and blue.http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/10/child-abuse-religious-exemptions-tennessee/503063/

How to Avoid Being Mind Controlled at a Conference by Neil Brick – Presentation at the 2016 Annual Ritual Abuse, Secretive Organizations and Mind Control Conference – August 2016
The information in this article was written with the help and research of several survivors and well-known, well-published therapists in the child abuse, ritual abuse and mind control fields over almost a twenty year period. Participants of several ritual abuse conferences helped research the information in this article.https://ritualabuse.us/smart-conference/2016-conference/how-to-avoid-being-mind-controlled-at-a-conference/